Please enjoy this repost of the continuation of my 2004 essay: “Kierkegaard’s Narrative” Even without the religious and spiritual dimension that was the ultimate foundation of Kierkegaard’s work, the narrative he inspired continues to...

For many people, the main appeal of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” movies is the “Jedi Way,” the philosophy/religion that guides the mystical Jedi knights. But where does this philosophy come from, and does it hold up under scrutiny?

"Kierkegaard's Narrative" is an existential humanist plot outline named after the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In general, it runs as follows: An aimless young man drifts through life, obsessed with aesthetics, and seeking sexual fulfillment with a series of women, yet never making substantive choices or real commitments. The climax of the story is the protagonist's decision to commit to a single woman, and to enter into marriage.

The raw source material for this plotline is found in Kierkegaard's books "Either/Or," "Fear and Trembling," and "Repetition," in which he takes on the persona of various first-person narrators, and describes their experiences.

Today, most people know director Alfonso Cuarón as the first Latino to win the Oscar for Best Director (for 2013’s space thriller, Gravity). Others may remember him for 2001’s bawdy road movie, Y Tu...

What hasn’t been said about Casablanca? It’s a nearly flawless piece of cinema, and the crowning achievement of the old “assembly-line” system of movie-making, under which the studio would pull a director, a couple...

This is a round-up of artists and writers who have cited or are otherwise known to have been influenced by the essay reprinted several weeks ago, Reconstructivist Art: Artists Scott C. Clements, filmmaker...